PEORIA MAGAZINE May 2023

T he craft-beer craze that’s been underway so far this century shows no signs of abating around central Illinois. From Macomb to Fairbury, at least 20 craft breweries are pouring handmade suds to those with discerning palates. Or to newbies who want to experiment beyond Bud Light. Of course, alcohol production in Peoria is nothing new. Gipps and Leisy were mass-producing beer here by the end of the 19th century. Until 1982, Pabst operated one of the nation’s largest breweries in Peoria Heights. Beermaking resumed in Peoria in earnest in 1998, when John S. Rhodell Brewery opened on Peoria’s riverfront. It remains the granddaddy of them all hereabouts, but today it has plenty of company with more to come. Bust’d Brewing soon will make the first beer in the Heights since Pabst left. Ottawa-based Tangled Roots has plans for a brewery and restaurant on Washington’s Downtown Square. Funky Brew is under development in Gridley, a village of about 1,400 located 40 miles east of Peoria. Clearly, brewing is not just a big-city thing anymore. Here’s a look at three craft breweries in central Illinois that have become economic drivers in their communities. DESTIHL BREWERY, NORMAL Matt Potts still is licensed to practice law, but it’s not where his passion lies. The evidence of that now can be found in 38 states. That’s the footprint of Destihl Brewery, the company Potts founded in 2007 in Normal, which has grown to about 175 employees, a restaurant, beer hall and robust product line of mainstream and specialty brews. “You can always dream big when you’re in this business,” Potts said, “but I would say this would far exceed that.” Potts’ craft-beer journey began innocently in the 1990s after the Williamsfield-area native came home from law school and joined the family

What followed was praise for Destihl’s beer and food, the opening of a beer hall/production facility in 2007, and then the mass production and canning of its widely praised wild sour series. “We were probably one of the first breweries in the country to put sour beer in a can, which at that point in time was sacrilegious,” Potts said. “It kind of made sours more accessible and certainly a higher volume of product … It created a huge niche for us.” The sours and success at the annual Great American Beer Festival in Denver put Destihl on the national map. Connecticut, Kentucky and Virginia were added this year. That growth helped Destihl survive the COVID related shutdown of its restaurants. Package-beer sales soared during the pandemic, said Potts, whose businesses had endured tough times before. The Elmwood brewpub opened just after the Sept. 11 attacks, Destihl just before the Great Recession. “There’s a national tragedy or local tragedy every time we open something,” joked Potts, who’s learned to keep his feet on the ground. He still does all the legal work for the brewery. “Obviously, it was tough to leave the family law practice,” Potts said, “but you have to pursue your passion in life.” ANALYTICAL BREWING, LEXINGTON

legal practice in Elmwood. He and his wife, Lyn, had lunch one day at Landmark Café & Creperie in Galesburg. Potts ordered an Anchor Steam Beer from California, one of the early mass produced craft brews. “That was probably the first beer I had that had awesome hop character and a little more bitterness to it,” Potts said. “It sparked my interest in beer in a different way, rather than just enjoying it. It was kind of a turning point.” Potts became a homebrewer. That blossomed into Elmwood Brewing Co., which opened in 2001 in a restored building on that community’s downtown square. Potts juggled beermaking with his law practice, but the suds proved more appealing than the summonses. Developer Diane Oberhelman gave Potts a chance to focus on beer full time. In the mid-2000s, she approached him about starting a brewpub at a Normal shopping center she was developing. Potts enrolled at a brewing school in Chicago to sharpen his skills, and Destihl Restaurant & Brew Works opened in November 2007.

Unlike many rural communities, Lexington isn’t dying on the vine. It’s growing, if not by leaps and bounds then by hops and barley. The city of 2,100 residents located 15 miles northeast of Bloomington Normal has increased in population with every Census count since 1960.

MAY 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 19